# I explained — Nightmare Abbey > Chapter companion for Nightmare Abbey by Thomas Love Peacock. ## What happens The chapter introduces Nightmare Abbey, the melancholic home of Mr. Glowry, a widower who lost his wife after a loveless marriage. His son Scythrop is sent to school and university, falls in love with Miss Emily Girouette, but is disappointed when she marries another. Scythrop retreats to his tower, despondent. The chapter also introduces the gloomy household staff and the frequent visitors: the morbid Mr. Flosky and the Manichaean Mr. Toobad. ## Themes in this chapter ### Melancholy and Misanthropy Mr. Glowry's atrabilarious temperament, his delight in dismal servants and guests, and Scythrop's despondency after his first disappointment all embody this theme. ### Romantic Idealism vs. Reality Scythrop's idealistic love for Miss Emily Girouette is shattered when she marries another for convenience, highlighting the gap between romantic ideals and practical reality. ### Love and Marriage as Transaction Mr. Glowry's own marriage was a transaction of interest, and Scythrop's love affair is broken off due to a quarrel over 'the terms of the bargain.' ## Character check-ins ### Mr. Glowry The melancholy owner of Nightmare Abbey, a widower who was disappointed in love and friendship, and who now believes the only good thing in life is a good dinner. ### Scythrop Glowry The only son and heir, who after a fashionable education falls in love with Miss Emily Girouette, is jilted, and retreats to his tower in despair. ### Mr. Flosky A lachrymose and morbid literary gentleman, a welcome guest at the Abbey, who delights in dismal stories and Kantian metaphysics. ### Mr. Toobad The Manichaean Millenarian, a close friend of Mr. Glowry, who believes the world is currently under the dominion of the Evil Principle. ### Mr. Hilary Scythrop's cheerful uncle, whose lively visits often discompose Mr. Glowry's nerves. ### Raven The butler at Nightmare Abbey, chosen for his dismal name. ## Key lines > He had been deceived in an early friendship: he had been crossed in love; and had offered his hand, from pique, to a lady, who accepted it from interest, and who, in so doing, violently tore asunder the bonds of a tried and youthful attachment. Mr. Glowry was betrayed by a friend, disappointed in love, and married out of spite to a woman who married him for his money, breaking off her own true love. _Explains the origin of Mr. Glowry's melancholy and misanthropy._ > When Scythrop grew up, he was sent, as usual, to a public school, where a little learning was painfully beaten into him, and from thence to the university, where it was carefully taken out of him; and he was sent home like a well-threshed ear of corn, with nothing in his head. Scythrop's education was typical: he was forced to learn a little at school, then had it all undone at university, returning home empty-headed. _Satirizes the uselessness of contemporary education._ > He fell in love; which is nothing new. He was favourably received; which is nothing strange. Mr. Glowry and Mr. Girouette had a meeting on the occasion, and quarrelled about the terms of the bargain; which is neither new nor strange. The lovers were torn asunder, weeping and vowing everlasting constancy; and, in three weeks after this tragical event, the lady was led a smiling bride to the altar, by the Honourable Mr. Lackwit; which is neither strange nor new. Scythrop fell in love and was accepted, but the fathers argued over money, the lovers were separated, and within three weeks the girl happily married someone else—a common, predictable story. _Highlights the transactional nature of love and marriage in the novel._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/nightmare_abbey_se/chapters/i - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/nightmare_abbey_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/nightmare_abbey_se/chapters